


Holding On

by tmntstyle



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 10:10:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4783514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmntstyle/pseuds/tmntstyle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was dead, because of me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holding On

I look on, numb to the world around me. The horrific scene is all I see, bodies strewn across the street in various stages of death. Some have missing limbs, heads on the ground, weapons embedded in their flesh… 

Still, it is not enough. I can still feel it, the pain. The loss. He’s gone… Because of them. These… These shells of men… They took him from me right before my eyes. Every one of them, slaughtered in vengeance. 

Not one of these humans suffered the way he did, the way they should have. He was wiped from existence in cold blood, so young. The blood on my hands sends the memory spiraling into my mind once more, allowing me to hear his anguished cries of pain over and over again.

I can see the blades, hear the electricity crackle, smell burning flesh. I watched, helpless, as they tore him apart slowly. Tears fell from his eyes as he took his last breath, staring at me pleadingly. All I could do was watch, frozen by a stun baton, as my brother died. Alone. I couldn’t be there and hold him as his spirit faded, like I had promised years ago.

It’s my fault he is gone. He left this world as a lonely soul, never again to feel the pleasures of life. His bright smile is gone, his sparkling eyes dull and blank; lifeless. It’s too much to bare.

I scream, dropping to my knees beside his cold body. Gathering him into my arms, I cry against his head in hysterics. Thankfully, no one is out in this abandoned section of town, for I would be discovered with my loud sobs of sorrow.

It is unnatural, feeling how stiff and cold he already is, knowing there is nothing left of him but an empty vessel. All of this, because of me. He is gone…because of me. Oh brother, how could this have happened to you, of all people?

Eventually, my cries lessen to soft whimpers and I stand, holding him close to my chest. He deserves a proper funeral but it is just something we- I cannot do. I am the last, the only left of my friends and family. 

Walking to the edge of a pier, I kiss my brother’s forehead, letting it linger for a moment before pulling back. “R-Rest in peace, little b-brother. I’ll see ya a-again, someday.”

Sniffling, I set his body in the water, watching as it sinks below the surface and is out of sight. I place a hand over my heart, closing my eyes as fresh tears fall down my scarred face. “I will miss you, Mikey… Never forget that. I won’t.”

With that, I pull my cloak closer to my body and walk toward the closest manhole. Hopping down to the sewers, I take a slow trek home, using the longest route I know of. There’s no rush to get back to the empty lair.

‘Leo, Don, Casey, April, Master Splinter, now Mikey… I’m all alone now. Well, physically. I can still hear their voices in my head and feel their presence envelope me like a warm blanket.’

Stopping in my tracks, I glance around to try and pinpoint a sound that was startlingly familiar and all too real.

“We’re always with you, Raphie… Keep holding on until it’s your time to join us…”

A chill races down my spine, as if a breeze hits me. It has a soft warmth to it, also familiar and somewhat comforting. I smile and sit against the side of the tunnel, letting my eyes shut as the warmth increases. “I’ll be there soon, guys. Wait for me…”


End file.
